Boards / Board AI Assessments

Board AI Assessments:
Evidence-based views of your board's AI strategy and adoption

Three ways to get clarity on how well AI is being governed, adopted and considered, from a fast sense-check to a full independent review.

The situation most boards are in

Boards are stuck asking the same high-level questions, without a way to go deeper.

Director asking whether the business is using AI to do what it already does, or asking bigger questionsDirector unsure whether AI activity reporting is actually reporting AI valueDirector asking whether the board is governing AI, or just watching it happen

Our assessments give your board confidence in its AI strategy and how AI is being governed

Whether you need a quick sanity-check or a more comprehensive independent review, we can tailor the level of support to what your board needs.

1

Strategy

Is the plan sound?

+
2

Adoption

Is it working today?

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Board confidence

1

Strategic AI Review

Evidence-informed and qualitative

What it is

We test whether management and the board have looked hard enough at how AI could reshape customer behaviour, competitive position and the business model itself, and what a sensible response looks like.

What we do

Structured interviews with the CEO and Chair or another director
Evidence review of strategy and how it was developed
Board workshop to test assumptions where material gaps are found
Board-ready briefing with findings and matters for attention
See a snippet of the report →

Strategic consideration at a glance

No area was assessed as adequately considered within the evidence reviewed.

Customer value

Partially considered Moderate

Principal gap — Changing buying criteria and willingness to pay

Industry economics

Not adequately considered Limited

Principal gap — Pricing, margin and staffing leverage

Competitive boundaries

Not adequately considered Limited

Principal gap — AI-native, adjacent and customer-led alternatives

Defensible advantage

Partially considered Limited

Principal gap — Durability of trust, knowledge and professional judgement

Illustrative sample from a Strategic AI Review.

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2

AI Adoption Assessment

Evidence-based and rated

What it is

We rate the evidence of management's maturity in how it invests in, measures, governs and manages the risk of AI adoption, including the data integrity, usage guardrails and technical readiness boards expect but rarely see tested.

What we do

Structured interviews with directors and management
Evidence review across data, tools, procurement and governance
Scoring against six dimensions, benchmarked to your size and stage
Board-ready profile with ratings, gaps and priority actions
See a snippet of the report →

AI Adoption Profile

Investment

Repeatable

Value

Developing

Capability

Developing

Organisational readiness

Developing

Governance

Repeatable

Risk

Repeatable

Developing Moderate evidence

Board question

Are AI uses visible and supported by suitable data, approved tools and repeatable operating processes?

Evidence reviewed

Data · Tools · Procurement · Implementation · Operations

Independent finding

Central processes are more developed than local and embedded AI practices.

Every dimension expands the same way, shown here for Organisational readiness.

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Board AI Snapshot →

Faster and lighter than a full assessment

The quickest way to see where your board stands. Built from structured interviews and a review of key documents rather than detailed evidence analysis, so it costs less than a full assessment and shows you which deeper work is actually worth doing.

See the Snapshot

What's involved

Structured interviews with the Chair, CEO and selected leaders, plus a review of key documents.

What it covers

AI strategy, governance, key risks and where to focus next.

Start wherever it makes sense for your board

There's no fixed package to choose. Pick the scope that answers your question, and it becomes a baseline you can revisit each quarter.

Choose a starting point

A · Fastest

Board AI Snapshot

Where do we stand, quickly, before committing to more?

B

Strategic AI Review

Is the board's strategic thinking on AI sound?

C

AI Adoption Assessment

Is AI adoption working well today?

D · Most complete

Both, combined

The full Board AI Baseline, strategy and adoption together.

E

A custom review

Scoped to the specific question you're trying to answer.

Then, review it every quarter

Start

Your baseline

Whichever option you chose

Q1

Review

Repeats each quarter

Quarterly reviews track movement across the same dimensions, so the board sees what's changed, not just where things stand today. A one-off review is valuable on its own; boards that keep going get the clearest picture.

Questions about the assessments

Do we need to choose one of the pre-defined services?

No. These are examples of common ways we work with boards, not fixed packages or required starting points. We can tailor the scope to the question you are trying to answer, whether that is a short board session, a focused piece of advice, a workshop, or a more detailed independent review. If you are unsure what you need, contact us. A short conversation is often the best place to start.

We're not ready for a full review. Where should we start?

Start with the Board AI Snapshot. It is built from structured interviews with the Chair, CEO and selected leaders in areas such as technology and HR, and gives the board an initial view based on management perspectives, without the documentary evidence-testing a full assessment involves. It is fast, low-cost and often the clearest way to decide what deeper work is worth doing.

How do you complete the AI Adoption Assessments?

Assessments are completed primarily through structured interviews with directors and management, guided by our methodology and supported by targeted evidence across six dimensions. For example, the Organisational Readiness dimension examines whether AI use is visible and supported by suitable data, approved tools, procurement checks, implementation disciplines and repeatable operating processes. The Capability dimension assesses if the organisation has the leadership, AI literacy and specialist capacity to evaluate outputs, oversee human judgement and manage change.

Is this a governance audit?

No. Our services are designed to give directors confidence in their AI programs and help them work together with management teams to close any gaps. We review the maturity of your AI governance processes, relative to your company size, complexity and the stage of your AI adoption.

How does this compare to formal AI governance standards, like ISO42001?

These standards provide a valuable framework for an AI management system, especially for large enterprises and technology vendors. Our service helps mid-market boards address a broader question: whether AI is being adopted well, delivering value and receiving sufficient strategic consideration. We help translate frameworks into practical and fit-for-purpose processes. It can support ISO readiness, but does not replace formal conformance assessment or certification.

Will these reviews create a separate risk management framework for AI?

No. For mid-market organisations we recommend using your existing risk management framework and procedures, updated with specific AI risks such as data quality, privacy and sovereignty, IP leakage, reliability, human oversight and vendor dependence.

How do you complete the AI Strategic Outlook reviews?

The Strategic Outlook Review is led through structured interviews with the CEO and Chair or another director, supported by relevant strategy, board and external evidence. Where the initial enquiry identifies material gaps or uncertainty, we typically use an in-person or remote board workshop to test assumptions, broaden perspectives and agree matters requiring further attention.

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Not sure which assessment fits? Tell us about your board.

Share a few details and which assessment interests you, and we'll be in touch.